DRUMMONDVILLE, Que.—As predicted, the Quebec syrup crop this season was a record breaker at 239 million pounds.

The membership of Québec Maple Syrup Producers (QMSP) federation, gathered this week in Drummondville for the organization’s annual general meeting, and announced the official 2024 figures, compiled in a phone survey by Groupe AGÉCO.

That production total equaled an average 4.47 pounds per tap in the province, and a total value of some $750 Million.

The U.S. crop is also expected to be a record breaker. The USDA will announce the U.S. crop totals next week.

“This record harvest will allow us to serve the rising demand from domestic and foreign consumers,” said QMSP President Luc Goulet. 

85% of the maple syrup produced in Québec is destined for export, the federation said.

The big Quebec crop follows last year’s low harvest, which drew down syrup inventories held in the Global Strategic Reserve to its lowest level since 2008.

This year’s bumper crop will safely meet consumer demand, with enough surplus that QMSP expects to be able to replenish its warehouses, the federation said. 

The fluctuations in production and precipitous drop in inventories, coupled with ever-growing demand, led to world-wide headlines of a maple syrup shortage over the past year. 

QMSP issued additional quotas in 2021 and 2023. 

Of the 14 million taps awarded to new and existing producers, 6.5 million are already in production, representing an average annual capacity of some 20 million pounds of syrup and contributing to this year’s record harvest. 

The remainder of the 2023 issuance must be installed by April 1, 2026.